How many bags constitutes excess baggage?
The U.K.’s Daily Mail has a piece today on how much the average woman there, er, here, spends on handbags in her lifetime — and survey says….£4,000 (when the dollar is weaker, that $8,000. Now, it’s just over $6,000). How does that sound to you guys?
Here’s how the survey cited by the article breaks things down:
While the figures may seem monstrous to some, others will be surprised they are so modest.
And in the survey of 3,000 women, around two-thirds said they would like to buy even more handbags, if they could get away with it.
According to the figures, at any one time the average woman owns a total of 17 bags.
Really? Seventeen bags? I counted mine. Oh my — 17, not counting the two fabric shopping totes (those don’t count, right?). Now, that does, however, include the whole lot of the rest: A couple of vintage, inherited ones (one from grandmother, one from stepmom), the $1 faux-fur pouch I bought at a garage sale, the massive patent leather carry-on/weekend bag, etc.
Which brings me to the following point: It’s important to note that the age range for the survey was massive — 13 – 81. At 13, I think the only bag I had was the backpack I used for school. And should I be lucky enough to live to 81, I suspect I might have way more than 17 bags (although I hold out hope that I’ll be better at editing by then…).
But as you go through your 20s, 30s and beyond, if you buy smart, you tend to keep those bags around rather than dispose of them because they’re falling apart or are no longer trendy. So the need for extra shelf space comes with the territory.
Oooh. A show in 3D. Wait. Don’t we live in 3D?
This year’s much-hyped “Avatar” — that futuristic smurf movie where a director insists on inserting his tech wizardry between the actors and the story — has made 3D the hot thing. Again. Probably for the thousandth time since the 1950s.
3D. Three dimensions. You know, the same one’s you wake up to every day. The very ones in which you see your breakfast dishes, traffic and cellulite. Yeah. Those ones.
Well, apparently so great is our need to “embrace the future’ (as the Times reports) that we must, must have our fashion shows broadcast to us as such, complete with funny, whiz-bang designer glasses:
In Dubai, Tokyo and LA they waited, with their special, artfully styled Burberry glasses, waiting for the Burberry show to start streaming live in 3-D from London. It was late — obviously — but only a little, delayed by rain, Uma Thurman and the decision to filter 1,200 people into the label’s tent via an entrance so narrow that it made the eye of the needle look all-embracing.
This is the future: it doesn’t matter where you put on a show any more: within six seconds of the first black, sheepskin-lined flying jacket bouncing down the catwalk they were tweeting and placing instant orders from the globe’s four corners. “I can see you and Samantha Cameron,” texted a colleague in New York. “How’s my hair?” I texted back. Then I remembered the job in hand.
“How’s my hair,” is really what it comes down to. Yeesh. Nothing against technology or 3D, but breathless descriptions such as the one above are just odd and more than a little annoying.
Fashion Week for the fashion weak
I know. I know. I’m sure Fashion Week — which just kicked off in London — is all that. Personally, I’d only go if I were being paid to do so. I’ve spoken to attendees and to people who have worked the shows and it’s just a total flustercuck.
And, more often than not, the stuff magazine editors choose to promote/highlight/market tends to leave me cold and/or baffled.
SO.
I figured if I was going to look at costumes and stuff I’d never wear, I may as well go to the fantastic Victoria & Albert Museum (aka, the V&A). Much more fun than watching scowling models walk down the runway and such a cool way to kill a day. Anyway, I’m so glad I went, because they have the perfect antidote to the excesses of Fashion Week: Ethical Fashion/Conscious Style, part of the Fashion, Jewelry & Accessories collection. You can click on the image below to go there.
If you can’t make it there, don’t fret. They have a ton of great stuff online. Stuff most of us don’t think of. Like, say, cotton. Yes, the “fabric of our lives” — no one thinks there’s anything wrong with cotton clothing. So comfortable. So easy to care for. So natural. But…maybe not. In this world, even a simple cotton t-shirt becomes a weighty issue. Check it out:
- Cotton provides much of the world’s fabric, but growing it uses 22.5% of the world’s insecticides and 10% of the world’s pesticides, chemicals which can be dangerous for the environment and harmful to the farmers who grow it. (Ethical Fashion Forum)
- Current textile growing practices are considered unsustainable because of the damage they do to the immediate environment. For example, the Aral Sea in Central Asia has shrunk to just 15% of its former volume, largely due to the vast quantity of water required for cotton production and dying. (Ethical Fashion Forum)
- Most textiles are treated with chemicals to soften and dye them, however these chemicals can be toxic to the environment and can be transferred to the skin of the people wearing them. Hazardous chemicals used commonly in the textile industry are: lead, nickel, chromium IV, aryl amines, phthalates and formaldehyde. (Greenpeace)
See? There’s loads of other info, links and interviews there too, which, honestly, will make you feel just fine about not being able to afford to cram your closet with more stuff this season.
And, uh,as for me…I’ll be taking much better care of my cotton clothes. Gotta make those puppies last!
No fakes on Bigwardrobe.com? Ehm, sure.
I have a bit of a love/hate thing with Bigwardrobe.com. On the one hand, I like that it’s there, offering a way for people to swap and sell things that would ordinarily languish in their closets or end up in landfills. Pretty cool, right? On the other hand, I’ve yet to have a good experience on the thing. People keep offering insane swaps for things I’m only selling. Besides which, frankly, I’ve yet to find much there that I’d like to buy. There are so many knockoffs on the site, it’s crazy.
So, I was thrilled to get the following e-mail from Bigwardrobe.com today:
Fakes are prohibited on Bigwardrobe.com
Over the last 24 hours we have removed all items from Bigwardrobe.com which appear to be counterfeit. We have taken this course of action to protect our members.
Many people overlook the implications of buying fake fashion brands. These include inferior design, the cost to legitimate business, health risks from hazardous dyes and chemicals, and supporting organised crime.
Going forward, we kindly ask you NOT to list any counterfeit goods on Bigwardrobe.com.
We monitor the site for fakes on a regular basis and will delete ALL counterfeit listings.
Similarly, if you spot anything which appears to be fake, please use the ‘report this item link’ on the item display page.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Bigwardrobe.com
Terrific! I logged on, went into the handbags section and clicked on “Chanel”. Now, I have no proof, but I’m fairly certain the listing below is for a counterfeit bag:
Why do I think so? Aside from how the thing looks (cheap!) this person is asking for 30 pounds for a Chanel purse and dust bag. And he or she has the very same bag in other colors. So…yeah. Fake. I’m guessing the BW team has a lot more work to do before it can say that it has actually removed all items that seem to be counterfeit. I mean, it took me all of 30 seconds to find this one. Word to the wise: You still need to use common sense when buying items from unauthorized retailers (that includes individual), because honey, there ain’t no such thing as a 30 pound Chanel bag.
RIP Lee Alexander McQueen
From the Telegraph
It’s been reported that (Lee) Alexander McQueen was found hanged in his London home. Tragic. The Guardian reports that “A genius is lost — and darkness won.”
The designer, 40, apparently took his own life on the eve of his mother’s funeral and three years after his friend and supporter Isabella Blow killed herself (she battled life-long depression and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer).
So, now, with McQueen’s body barely cold, there’s already a debate raging as to whether he was a real genius or…not. Clearly still in no hurry to make friends, Toby Young rushed to type something about how McQueen wasn’t really all that, and that “there’s no such thing as talent in fashion.” Gawd. I’m not a fan of sentimentality, and I hate how people’s opinions of a person are reversed almost as soon as said person dies (Ronald Reagan comes to mind). I don’t own any McQueen and I’m not about to rush to the shops to pick any up now. But come on.
Young is just being a dickhead, straight up.
H&M batwing/sheer sleeved top, ~ $40
Not sure if this looks like much in this photo, but trust me, this top/tunic is ridiculously flattering and yes, a little sexy.
I was somewhat sceptical as I took a couple in different sizes with me into the changing room, but man was I pleasantly surprised when I tried them on. By the way, they run a little large, so go down a size from what you’d usually wear at H&M or similar lines.
The sheer sleeves start at the shoulder, so a hint of bra is seen, but the thing is so perfectly designed that you don’t see much else of the bra (ie, the cups, the back, etc.).
Of course, you could always just wear something under it, if that’s what works for you — nothing chunky though, natch. Note that despite the fact that the photo makes the hem look asymmetrical, it’s not.
The fact that the top is high-necked means you won’t look like you’re trying too hard. Plus, it’s cut so that doesn’t do what other batwing tops do — get way too tight on the hips, which is fine if you have a narrow build, but tragic if you don’t (why have the tightest part of the garment accentuating the widest part of one’s body?).
It’s a pretty sweet top to have for a night out — or a day, depending on what kind of day you’re having — and for the price, well, you can’t beat it.
Ver-sa-che or Verse-ace?
Ah, my sweet babies, it’s an unfair world. Just because you like the work of a particular designer — hell, even if you buy and wear said designer’s work — it doesn’t mean that you can sound cool trying to read what’s on the label. Out loud, natch. But who cares? Amiright? Well, actually, Glamour.com does.
In an attempt to come to the rescue, the folks there — or at least a couple of staffers — have provided us with a list of hard-to-pronounce designers, labels and brands.
Only trouble is, the list might do more harm than good.
In some cases (Behnaz Sarafpour) it’s just wrong. The name, which is Farsi — aka “Persian” is pronounced Beh-naz (the second syllable sounds just like Nas, the rapper) As it’s written. It’s not Beh-naaz or, or the oddly suggested Beh-noz, as Glamour’s list would have you believe.
With other names, following the list might just make you sound like you’re trying too hard to be a fashion snob (“Eve Sane Laurennnnn” what’s with the hard, multiple n’s when the next bit of instruction is “THE T’s IN BOTH “SAINT” AND “LAURENT” SHOULD BE BARELY AUDIBLE”?).
Personally, I don’t think there’s any shame in not knowing how to pronounce something.
If you’re in a store, just ask, or just say, “I think I like the black bag (by which you might mean the Balenciaga one). The red one (Lanvin), not so much.” It’s not like shopkeeps pop out of the womb confident in knowing how to pronounce Demeulemeester. Someone had to teach them.
Worse yet, the instructions might make you sould like you’re choking or that you’ve suffered a stroke and are swallowing your tongue. Yeah.
What the heck is “Luh-qua”? Even if you’ve never taken a single French class, you’d know that the hard-glottal “qua” sound suggested here is wrong. There is an “r” there, after all, and the French do something very neat with that “r” in their throats.
Glamour would have done better by packing readers off a “La-quoi.”
Here, here’s an AbFab clip that might help, dahlings.
Poofy, billowy dresses still in for next season
When compared to the “wet look” leggings (read: Cheap, shiny spandexy things) and harem pants (dear god, why!?), the could-hide-a cake-under-it dress doesn’t seem that bad.
And yeah. I know. They’re comfortable. And they can be flattering. Just about every girl should have a couple. And no more.
Still, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of those poofy, empire, babydoll, voluminous, could-double-as-maternitywear dresses. I was sort of hoping they’d go away for a while. Something with more tailoring, maybe a nice sheath, hell, even a sweet T-shirt dress would be nice. Something to show some shape.
Looking at what’s new at various online stores, I see a few more choices than last spring, but still….
Here’s the dress that Nordstrom is not only using to promo its new stock, but has placed as the first item on the dress page:
Blech. And the first dress in Barneys New York’s CO-OP page today (you should see this one..oh, Nelly) is this floral number…
Enough of these tents already. How about some darts and belt or something. Yeesh.
Truestylista -- Style over Fashion 